


Paths Converge

by xdluhman (deirdrepaterson)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: F/F, Starfleet!Amanda, college Reunion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 05:32:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15857229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deirdrepaterson/pseuds/xdluhman
Summary: Amanda Grayson attends her 30-year reunion for her class at Starfleet Academy, at the behest of Spock. Sarek's passing has left a strange void in her life and ruined her excuse for not going to these functions, where she fears she may run into her ex-girlfriend, Philippa Georgiou.They may have gone their separate ways after the Academy, but when their paths meet again, they may have a second chance at a life built together.





	Paths Converge

**Author's Note:**

> Sort of beta'd by my friend Rachael.  
> A few quick notes, for improved comprehension:  
> "ibu" is the Malay word for "mom"  
> My take on Andorians is heavily influenced by some apocrypha (http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Andorian#Apocrypha) where they are indicated to have four sexes: zhen, shen, chan, and thaan. In my universe, surnames/family names and pronouns are based on either the Andorian's biological sex or the related gender closest to their identity. So a character named Cmdr zh'Revan would be a zhen, and the appropriate pronouns (in Federation Standard) would be zh'e/zh'er/zh'erself. Most Andorians will also accept they/them pronouns.  
> "E'th'a" is the Andorian word for a parent who is a thaan.  
> By my estimation, Amanda is two years older than Philippa, so I figure Philippa must have started at the Academy at 16 instead of 18 (I'm treating the Academy as a 4-year university).  
> I've also included at least one reference to Enterprise (you could argue two). ;)

"I'm not sure I want to do this," Amanda Grayson said as she stood near the entrance of Starfleet Academy's E. Hernandez Memorial Conference Center. The digital sign above the doors proclaimed "Class of 2222 30th Reunion". Amanda had been able to avoid the previous reunions by going with Sarek on his assignments. Now…well, that wasn't an option.

 

Her son, Spock, laid his hand on her shoulder. "You need to spend time with people, Mother."

 

"I--"

 

"People who aren't Vulcans. Without…Father around, you need social contact, and Vulcans are not good social contact for humans. You trained to be a ship's counselor. You know this," he said calmly. "I will not leave until you have been inside for ten minutes."

 

"But you have class in fifteen minutes," she said. There was no point. She knew perfectly well that he was guilting her into going inside.

 

Spock raised an eyebrow slightly. "Exactly."

 

Amanda sighed and looked very put-upon. "All right, Spock. I still can't believe I let you talk me into this…"  She quickly patted down her hair and smoothed down her dress uniform top. She may have had a short commission, but she had been a Starfleet ensign, so she had the right to wear the dress uniform to 'fleet events. And it was expected for class reunions.

 

"Go on, Mother, I'll be watching."

 

She pressed a kiss to his cheek, said goodbye, and headed in through the doors. Signs directed her to the second largest room in the facility, where she found the check-in tables. Amanda had hoped that since the current generation of dress uniforms featured a name bar that there wouldn't be any badges with potentially embarrassing photos on them. No such luck.

 

The G-L check-in table (sorted by surname where applicable) was staffed by a Tellarite and a Rigellian, neither of whom she recognized, thankfully. "Hello. I'm Amanda Grayson, checking in. Medical division, if that's something you need to know."

 

"Let's see here…" the Tellarite said, shuffling through a box of name badges. "Ah, there it is. Do you have a plus-one?"

 

Amanda's mind shot to Sarek. "No, not today. Anything else?"

 

The Tellarite held out the badge. "No. Nice picture, though. Seriously."

 

"Uh, thanks," she said before wandering off to stand by the windows above the entrance. The picture was a good one, actually, from the year she kept her (purple) hair in a short, asymmetrical cut. Really, the only bad one was from when she was helping to test whether having artificial antennae would help when counseling Andorians. The blue antennae were not a good look.

 

She clipped the badge on and looked out the windows. If Spock had left, then maybe she had a chance to get out of the building before anyone recognized her. But no, there was Spock. Waiting to make sure she didn't leave. Maybe she could just stay here until he left…

 

"Amanda?" came a Malay-accented voice from behind her.

 

Fuck. This could not possibly be going worse.

 

Maybe if she kept looking away…

 

"I didn't expect to see you here."

 

Nope. A deep breath…

 

She turned around to face the last person she wanted to see: Philippa Georgiou, decorated captain and Amanda's ex-girlfriend. Actually, there was another person there, too. A human woman, probably in her late twenties, with dark skin, dark, curly hair, and a vaguely uncertain smile.

 

"Hello, Philippa. Who's this here with you?" Amanda asked, trying not to show how much she didn't want to be in this situation.

 

"This is my daughter, Michael." Philippa smiled.

 

Amanda relaxed a little. A daughter. Maybe Philippa had a partner now. "Lovely to meet you, Michael." Amanda held out her hand.

 

Michael took it in a firm grip and shook briefly. She returned her hand to her side. "Mmh. I'd say the same, Ms. Grayson, but ibu has not--"

 

Philippa shot Michael a look, and Amanda's attention turned fully to her. She looked good. Older, certainly, but it wasn't like the years hadn't affected Amanda too. Philippa's hair was down, showing off the natural waviness of her hair and framing her face. The years had been pretty good to her.

 

"My apologies, Amanda. In some of my worse moments, I have spoken ill of you, and much as I've tried, I never quite managed to teach Michael the art of tact." The shape of her smile changed. "She's a xenoanthropologist," she said, as if that explained everything.

 

It explained something, at least. Part of Amanda's coursework to become a ship's counselor had included a few basic xenoanthropology courses, and she recalled that the instructors were often rather blunt. In any case, it was unsurprising that Philippa had some unkind things to say. They hadn't parted on the best of terms, and Amanda had certainly vented to Sarek, and more recently to Spock, a few times over the years since their breakup really did change the course of her life. "It's fine, really. I've spent some twenty-five years among Vulcans, and they aren't exactly known for their tact. My husband"--Philippa looked surprised, odd--"was something of an exception, as an ambassador. My son, on the other hand, is very blunt. In fact…" She looked out the window. Spock was finally gone. "Oh, he's not out there anymore."

 

Philippa looked amused. "Your son was waiting outside? Planning on leaving already?"

 

"I would have liked to leave, but he was making sure I stayed. He's been concerned about me the past few years. It was his idea for me to actually show up this year," Amanda confessed. If Philippa didn't already think that she hadn't made much of herself, now she'd really know.

 

"If you don't mind, why has he been so concerned? And you mentioned your husband earlier, in the past tense?"

 

"Well, it's not exactly a secret. I'm surprised you hadn't heard, actually. I was married to the Vulcan ambassador, Sarek. Some Vulcan isolationists took offense at our marriage, and later the birth of our son, Spock. They tried assassinating him several times before and then…" She trailed off. It had been three years and she was technically psi-null, but there was still that empty space in her head where Sarek used to be.

 

Philippa still didn't seem to recognize the names or events. In fact, it almost seemed like she was staring off into a middle distance, unfocused and perplexed.

 

Michael, on the other hand, had a dawning look of understanding on her face. "You're _that_ Amanda Grayson? Ibu never said anything about what you did after the Academy… I'm not much older than Spock, but before the Academy I studied the ongoing lives of Sarek and you as a case study in interspecies relationships. I was sorry to hear of his passing."

 

Amanda inclined her head. "Thank you, Michael. And yes, I'm that Amanda Grayson." She fell silent. This conversation was going about as badly as she'd imagined it would. It was awkward enough meeting her former lover and said lover's child, but then bringing up that she was a widower with a son of her own… Frankly, it hardly occurred to Amanda how strange it was that Michael had a made a study of her life.

 

Spock hadn't really made any associations over the span of his schooling thus far. Amanda had privately worried about this, but Sarek had always assured her that it was normal for Vulcans to avoid most kinds of association until they had a career. So Spock clearly had no concept of why it was so mortifying to go to a reunion. Reencountering people she used to know or love was awful and awkward simply _because_ she used to know them and didn't anymore.

 

"Philippa…" Amanda paused trying to think of how to ask about Michael. "Where is Michael's other parent…parents? That is, does she…? Are you…?" Dammit. She was trained to be a counselor. She shouldn't choke like this.

 

Philippa's gaze returned to Amanda, but she didn't say anything. She blinked slowly. Amanda actually recognized this behavior. It was how Philippa had initially reacted when Amanda said she didn't plan on making a career out of Starfleet. It meant that she was reevaluating how well she knew Amanda and probably wouldn't be particularly responsive until she had fully processed the new information. Michael reached out and shook her shoulder gently.

 

"Ibu? Ibu? Amanda is speaking to you." No response except more blinking and a slight frown. Michael sighed and shook her head, a fond look on her face. "I'm sorry, we just got in this morning and I think she may be suffering from space lag. I'm adopted. My parents died in the attack on Alpha Doctari, and she adopted me, alone. As far as I know, she's single."

 

Amanda shook her head in a vigorous denial. "No, no, I wasn't… I just wondered why she brought her daughter, that is, you, instead of a romantic partner. I thought it was a fair question, after I explained about Sarek."

 

Michael's eyes said she was still wary of Amanda. "If you say so. I think I should take Ibu back to our hotel room. It seems like she could use a nap. We should be back before dinner, should you wish to speak with her more."

 

"Of course. It really was nice to meet you, Michael. Live long and prosper," she said, giving the ta'al. It was reflex, after all those years.

 

"Farewell." Michael took Philippa by the arm and steered her towards the stairs.

 

\-----

 

Against her better judgement, Amanda stayed at the reunion after her encounter with Philippa and Michael. There weren't a whole lot of people there that she recognized, although that was probably because the counselling program was relatively small; counselors were only needed for the largest of ships, so the bulk of the fleet didn't need them. Most of the people she did recognize were either part of her freshman unit, like Philippa had been, or had done something newsworthy in the interim, like a doctor who had spearheaded research into transporter psychosis and the engineer who had made significant breakthroughs into creating more efficient synthesizers.

 

She had a good conversation with now-Commander zh'Revan, an Andorian in the counselor group who had helped direct the program with the artificial antennae. They had gotten on well back then, but they hadn't been close enough to keep up with each other over the years (though zh'Revan did recall hearing about Amanda's marriage to Sarek and the birth of Spock). They discussed the present state of Vulcan-Andorian relations, though Amanda had the feeling she was missing some innuendo on zh'Revan's part (she was right: one of the commander's three spouses was Vulcan).

 

Several people who were either in the diplomatic corps or kept up with diplomatic news expressed their sympathies on Sarek's passing; one Tellarite almost cursed her name for having married Sarek in the first place (this was baffling; to her knowledge, Sarek had never been in opposition to any Tellarite proposals). She had one other slightly awkward interaction with a Catullan she dated for a few months during their second year, but Amanda made sure to mention that, while she was single, she had a son. That shut Rolani up quickly.

 

She left briefly an hour or so before the dinner to meet up with Spock, who agreed to join her as he had no other plans.

 

The dinner was set up with a seating chart, so Amanda was hoping that the seating would be by program and thus keep her away from another encounter with Philippa and Michael.

 

Of course, that wasn't how it worked out.

 

Instead, the organizers decided to shuffle the programs and somehow managed to seat Amanda (human, counselling) with Dynil th'Uwen (Andorian, engineering/ship design), Grovek Yn (Rigellian, astrobotany), and Philippa (human, command track astrometrics).

 

If Spock were fully human, there would be a bruise on his forearm in the shape of Amanda's hand from how much her grip increased when she saw this. "Mother, what's wrong?"

 

Amanda sighed and relaxed her grip. "Do you remember when I was telling you about my long-term girlfriend when I was at the academy?"

 

"Yes, the human woman who wanted to captain a smaller exploratory vessel. You frequently fought about the divergent paths of your career plans," Spock said.

 

"That's right. The part I didn't mention is that she's now one of the most respected captains in the 'fleet. I'm almost certain they must have mentioned her in one of your classes. Philippa Georgiou?" she said, gesturing at the seating board.

 

"I…am I to understand that you were in a relationship with Captain Georgiou of the USS Shenzhou?" This was genuinely the most shocked she had seen Spock since he came home to find her and Sarek…involved in things. And that had been more than a decade ago.

 

"Yes. I know she's well-known now, but we were just students back then. I'm glad to know that she's done so well for herself…"

 

"You have done well, too, Mother. I am certain that Father would not have been as successful in his negotiations without your voice. As impressive as Captain Georgiou's record is, _she_ should be proud to have known _you_."

 

Amanda smiled fondly at her son. She patted his arm gently. "Thank you, Spock. Let's go in now. No point in delaying any longer, I suppose."

 

They headed into the conference center's grand ballroom, which was decorated with midnight blue draperies and metallic stars. It reminded her a little of her very low-tech high school junior prom, though the organizers of this reunion had somehow managed to make the decorations seem almost classy. The table was already half-filled by the time Amanda found it. Dynil was sitting next to Michael, having a conversation about various social traditions from th'er home region. On Dynil's other side was a young Andorian who seemed intent on using the knife to cut up the cloth napkin. And of course, Philippa was seated to the other side of Michael. Amanda quickly decided to sit next to the young Andorian; if anyone asked, she'd say that the humans shouldn't cluster with each other.

 

She took her seat and turned to the kid. "Hello young warrior. I'm Amanda Grayson. Who might you be?"

 

The Andorian peered up at her. "Thylek zh'Uwen. And I'm not a warrior. I'm a _tailor_."

 

Amanda looked at the pieces of zh'er napkin and realized that they were, in fact, consistent with the pieces for a paneled shirt design. She chuckled. "My apologies, Thylek. May I call you Thylek?"

 

Zh'e shrugged. "I don't see why not. Apology accepted, too."

 

"So, have you had a nice time here? Were there many other kids for you to play with?"

 

Thylek's antennae drooped. "E'th'a wouldn't let me go anywhere without th'er. It was boring. No one wanted to talk about clothing design."

 

"I'd love to hear about it, if you'd like to tell me more," Amanda said, smiling.

 

"Really? Okay, well," zh'er antennae moved in a happy pattern, "I saw a really interesting tunic on a Caitian earlier. I'm trying to use this napkin to figure out how to modify long Vulcan robes to fit species that have tails."

 

Amanda and Thylek continued their discussion in that vein for several minutes before they were interrupted by the arrival of Grovek Yn and their Denobulan plus-one. "Amanda Grayson!" Grovek said pleasantly. "And Philippa Georgiou! What a remarkable coincidence! But why aren't you seated next to each other?"

 

"Grovek," Philippa said, employing what Amanda thought of as her "diplomatic voice". "You are aware that Amanda and I are not together anymore, correct?"

 

Grovek waved their hands dismissively. "Yes, yes, of course," they said, voice moving into a stage whisper, "I think the whole campus heard when you broke up."

 

Amanda's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Surely they hadn't been that loud, that public when they split up…

 

Grovek kept talking. "Differences in career path, wasn't it? Well, things have changed now, haven't they? No concerns about young children or whatnot, so those differences don't matter as much, right, Vel?"

 

The Denobulan, Vel, seemed less sure. "In Denobulan culture, spouses are often apart for long periods, yes, but we are longer-lived than Humans. Our society is completely different."

 

"That didn't stop us, though! And Rigelians keep very close to their spouses. I'm sure you two can work it out!" Grovek moved closer to where Amanda was seated. "Now please, go sit next to Philippa."

 

Amanda glanced at Spock, who unsurprisingly wasn't showing any reaction, and opened her mouth to protest.

 

"Oh no, I insist. I'm very patient. I can wait all night, but I won't sit until you are seated next to Philippa," they said. Amanda couldn't read Rigelian facial expressions as well as she could Humans or even Vulcans, but there was definitely something in Grovek's expression that said they were dead serious.

 

She nodded briefly. "Thylek, thank you for the wonderful conversation. Look me up if you ever create any pieces suitable for humans. I'd be very interested in getting a few of them."

 

Thylek beamed back at her as she stood up, antennae clearly indicating pride. Spock eyed her skeptically. She patted his shoulder gently and gestured for him to get up as well. He followed silently, letting her take the seat next to Phillipa, though it was evident it made her uncomfortable.

 

Amanda sat there, resolutely looking everywhere except for at Philippa. The table was silent for a moment or two, before Grovek managed to strike up a conversation with Michael.

 

After fifteen minutes of silence from Amanda, Philippa finally spoke.

 

"I'd like to apologize for earlier. When we split, I blacklisted your name in my comms and news feeds. I thought hearing about you would make everything worse. I suppose I never did remove the blacklisting, so hearing that you had married a Vulcan ambassador and had a child was a shock to me." Philippa looked genuinely apologetic. "I also realized I had never considered that your life would go on without me. Of course, logically, I know it did, but I still tend to picture you as part of my family."

 

Amanda sighed. "That's almost funny. I set up an alert on my news feeds for you. I knew you were going to do great things, and even if I couldn't be there with you, I wanted to know how you were doing. I thought you would hate me, even now, and I dreaded coming to this reunion not only because it's awkward to try to talk to people you haven't seen in 30 years,"--she made a face--"but also because I was afraid we'd end up making a scene. Now I think I'm just getting mixed signals."

 

Philippa's eyes were looking a little watery. "How could I hate you? Yes, you broke my heart, but I still loved you. I was so pleased to see you were here. So let me clear up those 'mixed signals': I want you in my life. Ideally, we would start dating again and see where it goes, but I would also be content simply being your friend, if you'll have me."

 

Amanda was still uncertain. "Let's talk through dinner right now and see how it goes, okay? And I'll decide before we all leave."

 

"I can handle that." It was almost unbelievable to Amanda that Philippa could still look at her like she hung the moon, even after their horrible break-up and all this time.

 

The evening proceeded quite pleasantly from there, with the two women discussing their lives in the past three decades.

 

At the end of dinner, Amanda took Philippa's hand and said, "So, are you planning on staying in San Francisco long? We could relive some of our old dates if you have time."

 

Philippa grinned. "Yes, Michael and I will be here until next Tuesday. I've been invited to give a lecture at the Academy, so we decided to make it a long trip. Was there anywhere in particular you were thinking?"

 

"Well, there was that one time…"

 

\-----

 

2 years later

 

Amanda looked on proudly as Michael gave Spock a half-hug and the ta'al before stepping back so he could be beamed aboard the Enterprise. His first real position on a starship and they made him science officer! By all rights Amanda should have been celebrating. Instead she was solemn.

 

Philippa noticed Amanda's general lack of a reaction. She turned to her wife. "What's on your mind, Amanda?"

 

Amanda sighed. "I just can't help but wonder what Sarek would think, if he were still here. Would he and Spock be on good terms, or would Sarek still resent him for turning down a spot at the VSA? And Spock was my last physical connection with Sarek. I know that I'll see Spock again and that we've lived apart before, but this just feels so final. What if something does happen to him?"

 

Philippa kissed her cheek and stroked her shoulder soothingly. "You have to let him go. Let them go. I won't lie and promise that Spock will return safe, but you've parted on good terms. He knows you love him, and you know he loves you. He's getting the opportunity to do what he always wanted, and you won't be left alone. Michael and I will still be with you, Lieutenant GG."

 

Amanda groaned at the nickname. "Pippa, you know I hate it when you call me that. It's the worst possible combination of a pun on my rank and last name. I knew I was going to regret hyphenating our surnames." She smiled. "You're right, though. He's going where he wants, and I'll be right with you two." She spotted Michael speaking to a young woman with curly, bright red hair. "Or with you at least. I'm sure Michael will want to move on to her own ship soon enough."

 

"Oh? Has she said anything to you, Counselor?" Philippa asked teasingly.

 

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Doctor-patient confidentiality, my love. Anything said in my office is privileged information." She winked. "But I have heard that a certain captain might be recommending her for promotion in the next year or so."

 

Philippa laughed. "You may be right." She smiled as she watched Michael heading back towards them. "But promotions take time, so our daughter will stay with us on the Shenzhou for a while yet."

 

"Our daughter. It's almost strange to hear you say that. Exhilarating, but strange. After all we only reconnected two years ago."

 

"And then got married three months later," Michael pointed out, having approached without Amanda noticing. "It's almost hard to imagine Ibu without you, Mom. We're a family, the four of us, together or apart."

 

Tears began to stream down Amanda's face, but she couldn't recall ever being happier in her life.

 

(Except maybe her wedding days.) 

**Author's Note:**

> Pacing? What is pacing? And what is "words other than dialogue"? "Distinct character voices"??? I do not know these things...  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little story of mine. I believe I created this ship, so I'm either calling it Philipanda or just Panda; the jury's still out.  
> If you liked it, please leave kudos or a comment! Thanks!


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